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To enjoy Wi-Fi 7, you need a broadcaster (a router or access point) supporting the new wireless standard—here are the growing lists of the standard’s best routers and mesh systems available today. Then, you need a computer client.
Smartphones, like the Pixel 8 Pro or One Plus 11 5G, generally don’t need much bandwidth to demonstrate the significance of performance gains.
On this front, you have two options. The first is to build or buy a new computer with built-in Wi-Fi 7 support in the motherboard. That’s an expensive route.
The second option is much more doable with minimum cost and is what this post is all about. It’ll walk you through the steps of giving your existing computer a Wi-Fi 7 upgrade. In a way, this piece is a supplement to my post on how to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6/6E.
Let’s get our hands dirty.
Dong’s note: I first published this post on November 17, 2023, and updated it with the latest information on March 13, 2024.
Wi-Fi 7 upgrade on a Windows computer: All you need to know
If you’re new to Wi-Fi 7, the cabinet below will give you some highlights. But the gist is that the standard is a game-changer in local network wireless connectivity.
Wi-Fi 7’s new features
1. The all-new 320MHz channel width
The first thing to note about Wi-Fi 7 is the new and much wider channel width, up to 320MHz, or double that of Wi-Fi 6/6E.
This new channel width is generally available on the 6GHz band, with up to three 320MHz channels. However, Wi-Fi 7 can also combine portions of the 6GHz and 5GHz bands to create this new bandwidth—more in the Multi-Link Operation section below.
Details of Wi-Fi channels can be found here, but the new channel width generally means Wi-Fi 7 can double the base speed, from 1.2Gbps per stream (160MHz) to 2.4Gbps per stream (320MHz).
So, in theory, just from the width alone, a 4×4 broadcaster 6GHz Wi-Fi 7 can have up to 9.6 Gbps of bandwidth—or 10Gbps when rounded up. But there’s more to Wi-Fi 7’s bandwidth below.
Wi-Fi 7 also supports double the partial streams, up to 16. As a result, technically, a 16-stream (16×16) Wi-Fi 7 6GHz band can deliver up to over 40Gbps of bandwidth, especially when considering the new QAM support below.
Like Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, initially, Wi-Fi 7 will be available as dual-stream (2×2) and quad-stream (4×4) broadcasters and dual-stream clients. In the future, the standard might have 8×8 broadcasters and single-stream or quad-stream clients.
Again, you need a compatible client to use the new 320MHz channel width. Existing clients will connect using 160MHz at best. In reality, the 160MHz will likely be the realistic sweet-spot bandwidth of Wi-Fi 7, just like the 80MHz in the case of Wi-Fi 6.
2. The 4K-QAM
QAM, short for quadrature amplitude modulation, manipulates the radio wave to pack more information in the Hertz.
Wi-Fi 6 supports 1024-QAM, which itself is already impressive. However, Wi-Fi 7 will have four times that, or 4096-QAM. Greater QAM means better performance for the same channel width.
As a result, Wi-Fi 7 will be much faster and more efficient than previous standards when working with supported clients.
Wi-F 7 vs. Wi-Fi 6/6E: The realistic real-world speeds
With the support for the wider channel width and higher QAM, Wi-Fi 7 is set to be much faster than previous standards on paper.
You might have read somewhere that Wi-Fi 7 is “up to 4.8 times faster than Wi-Fi 6,” and hardware vendors will continue to combine the theoretical bandwidth of a broadcaster’s all bands into a single colossal number—such as BE19000, BE22000, or BE33000—which is excellent for advertising.
Like always, these numbers don’t mean much, and things are not that simple. In reality, a Wi-Fi connection generally happens on a single band at a time—that’s always true for Wi-Fi 6E and older clients—and is also limited by the client’s specs.
The table below summarizes what you can expect from Wi-Fi 7’s real-world organic performance compared to Wi-Fi 6E when working on the 6GHz.
| Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 7 | |
| Max Channel Bandwidth (theoretical/top-tier equipment) | 160MHz | 320MHz |
| Channel Bandwidth (widely implemented) | 80MHz | 160MHz |
| Number of Available Channels | 7x 160MHz, or 14x 80MHz channels | 3x 320MHz, or 7x 160MHz channels, or 14x 80MHz channels |
| Highest Modulation | 1024-QAM | 4096-QAM |
| Max Number of Spatial Streams (theoretical on paper / commercially implemented) | 8 / 4 | 16 / 8 (estimate) |
| Max Bandwidth Per Stream (theoretical) | 1.2Gbps (at 160MHz) 600Mbps (at 80MHz) | ≈ 2.9Gbps (at 320MHz) ≈ 1.45Gbps (at 160MHz) |
| Max Band Bandwidth (theoretical on paper) | 9.6Gbps (8×8) | 46.1Gbps (16×16) |
| Commercial Max Band Bandwidth Per Band (commercially implemented) | 4.8Gbps (4×4) | 23Gbps (8×8), or 11.5Gbps (4×4) |
| Available Max Real-word Negotiated Speeds(*) | 2.4Gbps (via a 2×2 160MHz client) 1.2Gbps (via a 2×2 80MHz client) | ≈ 11.5Gbps (via a 4×4 320MHz client) ≈ 5.8Gbps (via a 2×2 320MHz client or a 4×4 160MHz client) ≈ 2.9Gbps (via a single stream 320MHz client or a 2×2 160MHz client) ≈ 1.45Gbps (via a single stream 160MHz client or a 2×2 80MHz client) |
| Available Clients (example) | 2×2 (Intel AX210) | 2×2 (Intel BE200 / Qualcomm NCM865) |
(*) The actual negotiated speed depends on the client, Wi-Fi 7 specs, and environment. Real-world sustained rates are generally much lower than negotiated speeds—capping at about two-thirds at best. Wi-Fi 6/6E has had only 2×2 clients. Wi-Fi 7 will also use 2×2 clients primarily, but it might have 4×4 and even single-stream (1×1) clients.
Like Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, Wi-Fi 7 has been available only in 2×2 specs on the client side. That, plus the sweet-spot 160MHz channel width, means, generally, it’s safe to conservatively expect real-world rates of the mainstream Wi-Fi 7 (160MHz) to be about 20% faster than top-tier Wi-Fi 6E (160MHz) counterparts.
However, the new standard does have more bandwidth on the broadcasting side. So, it can handle more 2×2 clients simultaneously with high-speed real-world rates. And that’s always a good thing.
3. Multi-Link Operation
Multi-Link Operation, or MLO, is the most exciting and promising feature of Wi-Fi 7 that changes the norm of Wi-Fi: Up to Wi-Fi 6E, a Wi-Fi connection between two direct devices occurs in a single band, using a fixed channel at a time—they use a single link to transmit data.
It’s worth noting that MLO is a feature and not the base of the standard, meaning it can be supported by a particular device or not.
In a nutshell, MLO is Wi-Fi band aggregation. Like Link Aggregation (or bonding) in wired networking, it allows combining two or more Wi-Fi bands into a single Wi-Fi link—one SSID and connection.
There are two MLO operation modes:
- STR-MLMR MLO (Simultaneous Transmit and Receive Multi-Link Multi-Radio): It’s multi-link aggregation using all three bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz) to deliver higher throughput, lower latency, and better reliability.
- E-MLSR MLO (Enhanced Multi-Link Single Radio): It’s multi-link using dynamic band switching between 5GHz and 6GHz to deliver load balancing and lower latency.
No matter which mode is used, the gist is that the bonded link delivers “better” connection quality and “more” bandwidth.
It’s important to note, though, that at the end of the day, MLO increases the bandwidth, allowing different applications on a client to use the two bands simultaneously. The point here is that no application on the client can have a connection speed faster than the fastest band involved. A speedtest application, for example, still uses one of the bands at a time. This connection speed is still limited by the hardware specs on both ends of the link, whichever is lower.
So, the MLO feature affords a supported client the best probability of connecting successfully at the highest possible speed using the fastest band at any given time, which changes depending on the distance between the client and the broadcaster.
In so-far real-world experience, MLO has proven to be a game-changer in a wireless mesh network by fortifying the Wi-Fi link between broadcasters—the backhaul—both in terms of speed and reliability. Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems, via my testing method, have shown sustained wireless backhauling links over 5Gbps at 40 feet away. In systems with wired backhauling, MLO plays a small role and generally only increases the speeds to individual clients—currently available at 2×2 specs, such as the Intel BE200 or Qualcomm NCM865 as the highest—by a small margin, if any at all.
That said, for clients, MLO is the better alternative to the finicky “Smart Connect“, where a single SSID is used for all of the broadcaster’s bands. In fact, you can think of MLO as the enhanced version of Smart Connect.
Some hardware vendors, such as Linksys or Asus, require Smart Connect for their broadcaster’s primary SSID before MLO can be turned on. As a result, users will need to use the hardware’s virtual SSIDs—Asus has plenty of them via its SDN feature—to segment the network, especially to support legacy clients. In this case, with MLO, you have to choose between the following in terms of SSIDs:
- Having a primary SSID (via Smart Connect), which is not MLO-enabled, and an optional 2nd virtual MLO-enabled SSID. Or
- Turning off Smart Connect to manage the band individually and losing the MLO option.
Others, such as TP-Link, always use MLO as a secondary virtual SSID, which is the way they handle Guest or IoT SSIDs.
In any case, keep the following in mind about this feature:
- By nature, link bonding will be more complicated than single-band connectivity—there are just too many variables.
- MLO only works with supported Wi-Fi 7 clients. Some Wi-Fi 7 clients might not support it. Considering the different performance grades and hardware variants, the result of MLO will vary case by case.
- Wi-Fi 6 and 6E and older clients will still use a single band at a time when connecting to a MLO SSID. And they might pick whichever of those is available in the bonded link. And you might get frustrated when they use the slow band instead of a faster one, like the case of Smart Connect. That happens.
- An MLO SSID requires the WPA2/WPA3 or WPA3 encryption method and won’t allow Wi-Fi 5 and older clients to connect. This can be a big headache for those assuming the SSID will just work with all clients.
- The reach of the bonded wireless link is as far as the range of the shorter band.
The point is that MLO is best used only when you have all Wi-Fi 7 clients, which won’t be the case until years from now.
In terms of range, the bonded link has the reach of the shortest band involved. Since the 6GHz band has just about 75% of the range of the 5GHz when the same broadcasting power is applied, MLO can only be truly meaningful with the help of Wi-Fi 7’s fifth and optional feature, Automated Frequency Coordination, mentioned below.
4. Flexible Channel Utilization (FCU) and Multi-RU
Flexible Channel Utilization (FCU) (a.k.a. Preamble Puncturing) and Multi-RU are two other items that help increase Wi-Fi 7’s efficiency.
With FCU, Wi-Fi 7 handles interference more gracefully by slicing off the portion of a channel with interference, 20MHz at a time, and keeping the clean part usable.
In contrast, in Wi-Fi 6/6E, when there’s interference, an entire channel can be taken out of commission. FCU is the behind-the-scenes technology that increases Wi-Fi’s efficiency, similar to the case of MU-MIMO and OFDMA.
Similarly, with Wi-Fi 6/6E, each device can only send or receive frames on an assigned resource unit (RU), which significantly limits the flexibility of the spectrum resource scheduling. Wi-Fi 7 allows multiple RUs to be given to a single device and can combine RUs for increased transmission efficiency.
5. Automated Frequency Coordination
Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) is an optional feature and deals with the 6GHz band, so it’s not Wi-Fi 7-exclusive—the band was first used with Wi-Fi 6E. It’s not required for a Wi-Fi 7 broadcaster’s general function. In fact, it wasn’t even mentioned in the initial certification by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Due to local regulations, the 6GHz band’s availability differs around the world. For this reason, some Wi-Fi 7 broadcasters will not adopt it and will remain Dual-band.
Still, Wi-Fi 7 makes AFC more relevant than ever. That’s because the 6GHz band has the highest bandwidth (fastest) yet the shortest range compared to the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands when using the maximum allowed broadcasting power. Originally, AFC was intended only for outdoor applications, but when implemented, it’s significant for all applications.
Here’s how AFC would work when/if available:
The feature enables a 6GHz broadcaster to check with a registered database in real-time to confirm that its operation will not negatively impact other existing registered members. Once that’s established, the broadcaster creates a dynamically exclusive environment in which its 6GHz band can operate without the constraint of regulations.
Specifically, the support for AFC means each Wi-Fi 7 broadcaster can use more broadcasting power and better flexible antenna designs. How much more? That depends.
However, it’s estimated that AFC can increase the broadcasting power to 36 dBm (from the current 30 dBm limit) or 4 watts (from 1 wat). The goal of AFC is to make the range of the 6GHz band comparable to that of the 5GHz band—about 25% more.
When that happens, the MLO feature above will be truly powerful. But even then, Wi-Fi 7’s range will remain the same as that of Wi-Fi 6, which is available only on the 5GHz band. Its improvement is that its 6GHz band now has a more extended reach than in Wi-Fi 6E. In other words, AFC allows the 6GHz band to have at least the same range as the 5GHz. And that’s significant.
This feature requires certification, and its availability is expected to vary from one region to another. Hardware released before that is said to be capable of handling AFC, which, when applicable, can be turned on via firmware updates.
A crude AFC analogy
Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) is like checking with the local authorities for permission to close off sections of city streets for a drag race block party.
When approved, the usual traffic and parking laws no longer apply to the area, and the organizers can determine how fast traffic can flow, etc.
Generally, the support for Wi-Fi 7 will vary slightly between different chipsets, and to get the best performance, both the broadcaster and the client need to share the same features and performance grade.
Like Wi-Fi 6/6E, Wi-Fi 7 has so far been available in the 2×2 specs on the receiving end, often known as the adapter. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see 3×3 or 4×4 specs on the client, considering 2×2 is already plenty fast.
Let’s find out more.
Wi-Fi 7 upgrade on a computer: Important notes on hardware parts
Currently, the only Wi-Fi 7 adapter you can buy is the Intel BE200.
There’s also the Intel BE202 variant that has only half the bandwidth, which is often available as an internal component of a motherboard.
If you think the Intel BE200—like the Intel AX210 for Wi-Fi 6E and the Intel AX200 for Wi-Fi 6—will be the mainstream Wi-Fi 7 receiver for all desktop and laptop computers, you’d be in for a little unpleasant surprise.
Intel CPU required—Intel BE200 seems to have little love for AMD
The Intel BE200 chip does not seem to be as platform-agnostic as the Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E counterpart. At least not out of the box.
In my trial, it only worked with Intel-based computers. Generally, any machine with an Intel Core i 1st Gen (as old as the 2008 model year) or newer CPU will work, though I haven’t investigated this matter exhaustively.
On the other hand, the new Wi-Fi 7 chip didn’t work on any of my half-dozen AMD-based computers, both desktops and laptops, via an NGFF 2230 M.2 slot or a PCIe adapter. (All of these computers worked fine with the old Intel AX200 or AX210 chips.)
In some cases, my Intel BE200 adapters caused these AMD-based machines to freeze during the initial boot, an indication that the incompatibility, if not by design, was at the BIOS level rather than a software driver issue.
It’s worth noting, though, that I also haven’t done an exhaustive investigation on this front—there might be an AMD motherboard out there that’s supported by the Intel BE200, or maybe a certain BIOS update version would fix the incompatibility. Your mileage will vary.
To stay on the safe side, you should only count on the Intel BE200 Wi-Fi 7 chip as an upgrade if you have an Intel-based computer that’s not more than five or six years old. In the near future, other Wi-Fi 7 adapters will work with all CPUs. In any case, updating your computer to the latest BIOS version is recommended.
Update: Qualcomm’s NCM865 Wi-Fi 7 chip supports both Intel and AMD out of the box. It’s also been reported that many AMD motherboards running the latest BIOS versions released in 2024 or late 2023 support the Intel BE200.
Other requirements
Being an Intel-based computer is only one of the requirements. A computer needs a place to host an adapter. So, for a successful upgrade, the machine also needs to meet the following conditions:
- It has an NGFF 2230 M.2 E-key slot designed specifically for Wi-Fi adapter cards. Or
- It has an available PCIe slot.
If the conditions above seem intimidating, remember that if your Intel-based computer is currently running Wi-Fi 6 (or 6E), it can likely be upgraded to Wi-Fi 7. Generally, the upgrade is only impossible on such a machine when:
- Its current Wi-Fi card is soldered to the motherboard, and there’s no PCIe slot—a rare feature of certain ultra-compact computers.
- It’s a restricted low-cost computer that was deliberately blocked from using a fast Wi-Fi adapter via its BIOS—the even rarer cases of cheap laptops.
- It has an NGFF 2230 M.2 that supports the A key only—a very rare case since most A key slots also support the E key.
That said, if you’ve successfully upgraded your Intel-based computer to Wi-Fi 6 or 6E, that computer will also support a Wi-Fi 7 adapter.
Buying the hardware parts
Now that you’ve gotten your computer ready. Here are the links to Amazon, where you can get the Intel BE200 adapter and other necessary parts to make it work:
- The Wi-Fi 7 chip itself—they are all the same, just pick the lowest-cost of the same BE200 model. This one can be installed immediately on a computer with an NGFF 2230 Wi-Fi M.2 slot with an E key.
- A PCIe-to-NGFF adapter, such as this one. This adapter is necessary only when you want to use the chip above with a PCIe slot on a desktop for the upgrade. Alternatively, you can get a ready-made Intel BE200-based PCIe card, such as this one or this one.
The third chip is the Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E adapter. It’s more standard, can fit in an A-key or E-key slot, and works with any computer, including those running on an AMD platform.
Upgrading Wi-Fi 7 on a computer: The steps
This is where you need to open the computer, install or swap out the cards, and close it. Afterward, install the software driver.
Here are the detailed steps:
1. Download the software drivers
Generally, Wi-Fi 7 only works well with Windows 11 23H2 and later—so upgrade your computer today—but the software can be installed on Windows 10. (Windows 10 does NOT support the 6GHz band—the BE200 will likely work like a Wi-Fi 6 adapter).
This link allows you to download the latest official software driver for the BE200 adapter from Intel. (The card’s support for the MLO might not be available until Windows 11 24H2.)
It’s generally a good idea to download the driver beforehand. You can even run the downloaded file—double-click on it—and install the software immediately without the new Wi-Fi card.
After that, turn your computer off before continuing.
2. Install the new Wi-Fi 7 adapter into your computer
This is the most important part: installing the actual Wi-Fi 7 adapter into your computer. It’s pretty straightforward. There are two possibilities.
A. If your computer has a built-in NGNN M.2 slot
This is the case with most laptops and some desktops.
Open the case and locate the slot. It’s likely already occupied by an existing Wi-Fi 5/6 or 6E adapter. If so, remove this adapter. Then, install the Intel BE200 into the slot and connect the antenna wires accordingly.
B. On a desktop computer with a PCIe slot
Many desktop computers do not have a Wi-Fi M.2 slot. But all will have a PCIe slot on their motherboard—if yours doesn’t, it’s way too old.
To use a PCIe slot for the upgrade, you must first attach the Intel BE200 adapter to the PCIe-to-NGFF adapter to form a Wi-Fi 7 PCIe card. Now install this card into the machine’s PCIe slot. Any slot will do, though you only need the shortest one.
The adapter comes with a USB cable for the card’s built-in Bluetooth. Connect this cable to the motherboard’s internal USB pins, or ignore it if you don’t care about Bluetooth.
And that’s it, now close the computer’s cover.
3. Install the software driver
Turn the computer back on and, if you haven’t already, install the software driver you downloaded in step #1.
You can download the Intel BE200 driver via Windows Update, but that’s only possible when the computer has another way to connect to the Internet, such as another network card.
Connect your new Wi-Fi card to your Wi-Fi 7 network, and mission accomplished! You’ve got yourself the first genuine Wi-Fi 7 connection.
Intel BE200 Wi-Fi 7 Chip's Rating
Pros
Adds Wi-Fi 7 to a computer with up to 320MHz channel width; affordable
Flexible application via E-key M.2 or PCIe adapter; widely available
Backward compatible with Wi-Fi 6E and older broadcasters
Cons
No 6GHz band for Windows 10; finicky AMD support
No USB option
Wi-Fi 7 upgrade: The gratifying result
In my experience, by early 2024, many Wi-Fi 7 routers, such as the Asus RT-BE96U or the Netgear Orbi 970 Series, when upgraded to the latest firmware, delivered Wi-Fi 7-class performance to the BE200 adapter, which is significantly faster than 2.4Gbps (negotiated speed) of Wi-Fi 6/6E.
Things will likely only improve with firmware and driver updates. Still, it’s rumored that you’ll only officially get all of Wi-Fi 7’s features, including MLO, on the BE200, starting with Windows 11 24H2.
The first one (left) was installed on a Gen 4 Core i7 computer. Note the negotiated speed of close to 3Gbps, which wasn’t the fastest I’ve experienced—this link rate generally can go up to close to 5Gbps.
The other was installed on a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 computer using an MLO-ready software driver. Note its “Aggregated link speed.”
It’s worth noting that the BE200 adapter also works with all existing Wi-Fi broadcasters—routers, access points, mesh systems, etc.—regardless of their standards, at their full speed. The point is that if you have a supporting computer, it doesn’t hurt to upgrade it with a new adapter today, even if you don’t have a Wi-Fi 7 router yet.
I successfully upgraded to a BE200 on my Kaby lake-based MSI laptop. Removed the A-key 9260NGW that was there and it had no problem detecting and using the E-key BE200. Breathed new life into the Wi-Fi performance of the laptop!
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I had no problems getting the Intel be200 (no Vpro) installed and working on a Asus b450-i. I replaced the wifi module on the motherboard. Latest motherboard firmware and Windows 11 23h2. AMD Ryzen 5 3400G. Connecting to a UniFi U7 Pro access-point. The be200 card does NOT require an Intel CPU, it is more a combined firmware, driver and OS issue.
Good to know. Thanks for sharing! It must be a BIOS issue since some computers I tried didn’t even boot. I’ll look into this further.
I recently upgraded my AX201 card to BE200 in my laptop and it is working.
I will probably upgrade to a tri-band Wifi 7 router and upgrade from Win 10 to Win 11 later this year when MLO is supported by Win 11.
Is there a need to upgrade to a tri-band antenna for my laptop to get the max speed?
And how to check what kind of antenna is currently installed in my laptop?
Thank you.
There’s no such thing as Tri-band antennas, Wayne, and you can’t upgrade that. It’s not as simple as adding another wire or a a piece of metal. More on the subject in this post.
Ok thank you.
I saw this tri-band antenna on Amazon, so it looks like it is BS.{…}
There’s lots of shit on the Internet, Wayne. It’s your prerogative to be a fan or not.
Hey Dong, have you managed to get hold of QCNCM865 chip? MSI is selling on amazon under name NCM865.
No and I don’t intend to test every chip. 🙂
Stand by I just ordered mine. Thank you for the id.. I will pop the chip out and plug it into my asrock x670e pro rs. Keep y’all posted.
🤞
Can you clarify what will and won’t work with different Windows 11 versions? The article text mentions 23H2, but the info box towards the end mentions 24H2. I’m also seeing news articles elsewhere talking about 24H2 adding support for WiFi 7, but it’s still only in insider preview. Mostly I just want to know if I drop a bunch of cash on a new router and BE200 whether it’ll actually work today, without me risking using a pre-release OS. Thank you!
It’ll work, Ben, but the MLO feature might need to wait. Give the post a serious read.
I have this installed on a Crosshair VI Wifi with 5800x3d.
It’s not specifically limited to Intel platforms.
Interesting. I wonder if the restriction is no longer. Thanks for the input.
neat, when did you purchase your be200? I’m not eager to buy a 3rd be200ngw till we get a few more confirmations.
the Crosshair VI Wifi with 5800x3d. is a x370 platform like my Taichi x370. maybe I need to push the bios a bit further up the food chain then just enough for my r7-3700x. x370 is a bit old.
Hey, can this thing work on a PC with a 11400 on a b560 board?
Read the post, Khang.
Some folks said you need a 12th gen or later, don’t know if it could work on a 11th gen.
Some folks said you need a 12th gen or later, don’t know if it can work on a 11th gen and after some research, it can’t work on a 10th gen.
That’s not true as you can note in the screenshot at the bottom of the post.
Worked like a charm. With the new card I had to reconnect to my home network, and after entering the password saw it still shows my previous card as installed (but disabled). I had to go into Device Manager, click on VIEW and SHOW HIDDEN to see the greyed out old device… uninstalled it, and it disappeared.
Also, the Network was renamed from Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi 2… so I had to turn off the WiFi card, then delete the old WiFi entry from the Windows Registry to get rid of them and reboot and log in new.
All that is fixed… but for some reason this BE200 card shows up as Wi-Fi 2, Wi-Fi-3, and Wi-Fi 5. All 3 are active, yet only one is connecting to my network (6Gz, since I set the preferred band to 6Gz in the Device Manager). Not sure why it shows 3 devices with only one connected, and in the Device Manager only lists 1 physical card… but it’s working. Thank you!
It generally happens within Windows when you change your router, or when you move the computer from one place to another, Steve. I’d not worry about it.
I believe it’s for MLO (multi-link operation) where the adapter can connect to 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz bands. I’m also using a BE200 but my WiFi 7 AP (ubiquiti) doesn’t support it just yet.
Steve, I had the same issue on my Dell laptop with Windows 11 after installing the BE200. The BE200 showed up as 3 adapters (WiFi2, WiFi5, and WiFi6). Then after Windows Update updated the driver, it has two adapters (WiFi and WiFi5). Only one is active and it seems to work. I am not sure why it shows the others… but I am following these threads in case someone figures it out.
Guessing the 3 connections are the different frequencies, ie 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz and 6Ghz
Did this rumor of WiFi 7 on Windows 10 turn out to be true?
{…}
It’s already there, just a matter of degrees. Specifically, there’s no 6GHz band (yet). More here.
No spam, please.
One thing you may want to add here is the BE200 is an E-key WiFi card, whereas the AX210 and prior were A+E key cards. There are some older Intel laptops (e.g. Coffee Lake era) that would otherwise be compatible with this card that were outfitted with an A-key m.2 WiFi slot only, so the BE200 will not physically fit in those scenarios.
Good point, JM. Thanks for the input.
Hello Dong, I’m not as technical as you or others that comment on here. I get confused about the recommendations for Mesh Systems. Wiring my 2 story 3000sqft house is not an option. My 1gig Fiber comes in on one side of the house and the TV Streaming is done on the opposite side of the house. I need a WI-FI 6/6E/7 Mesh system with BIG range 100% wireless. I want something that I won’t have to change out in five years. Thank you
I already answered here. Please don’t post the same comment under multiple posts again!
I recently needed to purchase a new router and went with the BE9300. My MSI mb has the 2230 M2 slot occupied with the Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160MHz. I’d seen some videos showing how to replace the wi-fi card on an Asus mb it looked easy enough so I purchased the BE200. When I opened my case I saw no obvious way to remove the wi-fi card so I asked MSI. Apon learning the entire mb had to be removed to get at the card I returned it. I next thought I would just disable the Intel adapter and install a pci-e BE200 but your articles seem to indicate that the pci-e option is not viable if you have the m2-2230 slot. Just looking for clarification on that point.
Read the post, Dean, and pay attention. You can use both simultaneously, by the way.
I keep looking for this one: QCNCM865 which I think will work with AMD, but it appears that it has not been available since maybe November.
🤞
I have the new TP-Link BE19000 router, and 3Gbs Fibre service from my ISP.
On my Lenovo Slim Pro 9i with the AX211 I was regularly getting speed tests of about 1.4Gbps in my office.
I upgraded the card to the BE200 and I now I regularly get 2.1gbps in my office and as high as 2.3gbps closer to the router. My wired speed is close to 2.4gbps.
I am thrilled – its like the internet is stored on my computer. Everything is instant. (Of course, it helps that I have a higher end PC too).
I’m assuming that 2.4 is the fastest possible speed on this laptop – even when MLO.
Eventually, Shane, you can get close around 4Gbps with the BE200 — it’s already the case when used with the Asus RT-BE96U. But for now, in many cases, 2.4Gbps is the limit until new firmware/driver is out.
It could already be possible for him, he should check the interface coming into his tplink (could be 2.5Gbps) thus he would never hit the 3Gbps
Or he should just do some iperf3 tests on the local network instead of relying on speedtests
I’m just going from what I’ve read, but I don’t think be200 is compatible with AMD cpus. I could obviously be wrong.
As mentioned, you need an Intel machine, Mark.
This supposedly has changed, but I can’t get it to work in my x670e system
As mentioned, you need an Intel-based system, Kevin.
Where did you get the information that this requires an Intel-based system? Just from your experience with testing? Intel support is swearing up and down to me that there are no restrictions that prevent it from running on AMD. I’m trying to find something official to rebut them. Maybe if they’re forced to confirm, the backlash would discourage them from doing this in the future.
My experience, but I haven’t tested that thoroughly — only on a few desktops via PCIe slots and a couple of laptops.
I have 2 samples of the be200ngw, both cause my ASROCK 370 TAICHI R7 3700 to lockup. the existing AX210 works fine.
win11-64 23h2
I have queried ASROC for suggestions.
As mentioned, this adapter requires an Intel CPU, David.
lol sounds like the underdog trying to hang on to market share as long as possible
i have Tplink wifi7 mesh router with Sonic 10gb fiber.
my pixel 8 that supports wifi7,
I did some speedtest, the speed is about the same as my samsung s23ultra, fold5 that only support wifi6E
That’s normal, Kenneth. More on Wi-Fi 7 in this post.
What about the CNVio2 protocol? Don’t you need a 12th generation or later Intel CPU? Are any AMD cpus/motherboards compatible? Thanks. The reading I’ve done on this is confusing.
You can install the BE200 on any computer that can house it, Mark, but how it works depends on the drivers. So, if you install it on a Windows 10 machine, for example, it won’t support the 6GHz band — it’s pretty much a Wi-Fi 6 card at this time — which is also the case with Wi-Fi 6E.
Whatever you read here will be the least confusing possible.
Does WiFi7 presently give significantly greater usable range for things like a whatsapp call vis a vis WiFi6?(I recently got a WiFi 7 supporting phone)
In my case I noticed that the transition to wiFi6 resulted in a much higher effective range of whatsapp call than WiFi5 on the 5Ghz band (After replacing tplink C80 with the AX90 (granted this is a much higher spec router) while using the same iphone12 client).
If WiFi 7 presently does so then I think that would be a great reason to upgrade for many people.
No, Shantanu. Even when it’s fully ratified, its improvements apply to Wi-Fi 7 clients only. Check out this post on the standard for more.
160 MHz is not a problem because in Europe they do not have the full range of the 6 GHz band available.
It’ll be interesting to see how Wi-Fi 7 turns out to be where the 6GHz band is more restricted by regulations than in the US.